Mother Nature might be mad

I spent Saturday afternoon in what looked like a war zone. The post-battle scene was quiet now, even peaceful, I thought, as I looked down and spotted a bright orange ladybug. Walking slowly from one casualty to the next, I choked back tears. It was time now to recover the dead and lend aid to the bruised and battered.

I mean, these plants werenâ€™t just picked up at the local garden center and plopped into the ground. (well, a few might have been) Most of these plants were grown from carefully picked out seeds, deposited gingerly, one-by-one into pencil-width holes, measured to the perfect depth into rich, organic soil and then placed under UV â€śgrowâ€ť lights, connected to a timer to ensure proper balance of â€śday and night.â€ť They were even repotted not once, but twice, when they outgrew their little biodegradable containers.

I suppose it was just a matter of time. These days, it seems, no one is immune to the devastation of natural disasterâ€¦. Earthquake ravages New Zealand; Tsunami takes down Japan; Tornadoes level Joplin and Tuscaloosa; Flooding consumes cities from Mississippi to Illinois; Heatwave grips the country, Fires engulf Arizona and Texas, you name it, we got it.

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A zucchini plant's large leaves were shredded in July's hailstorm.

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This poor little cucumber plant was doing great before the storm.

Iâ€™m one of the lucky ones. My home is intact. My family, friends and pets are all safe and soundâ€¦ My city is still standing. I feel fortunate.

But at the same time, I am pissed off. What did I do to deserve this? What about the people in Japan or Alabama, or Oklahoma, who will be rebuilding their cities, their homes and their lives for years to comeâ€¦ ? What about all the hard-working farmers from Mississippi to North Dakota who lost everything when their farmland was flooded. Or the folks in Arizona who could do nothing as their homes burned to the ground.
Come on Mother Nature, none of us deserves this!

Or do we?

Collectively we have been taking our earth for granted for too long. We drive gas-guzzling SUVs, even Hummers because we like the space, the comfort and the status it implies. We fly all over the world because we can. We wrap our babies in disposable diapers and go through cell phones as if they were disposable too. Oil and chemical spills are becoming commonplace.
We mine for resources like thereâ€™s no tomorrowâ€¦ and heck, who needs unspoiled beauty anyway?

Butâ€¦to be fair, we are doing better.

Weâ€™re recycling more. We compost. We drive smaller cars, carpool and ride bikes when we can.
We conserve water and electricity. We replace inefficient light bulbs. We stay home on vacation, andâ€¦.
We garden.